and True Believers as well for in this review we take a look at an exclusive figure made in partnership between Mattel and Stan Lee's POW Entertainment. Apparently this deal will result in multiple collaborations, but Mattel wanted to kick things off with a tribute to Stan himself. They could have made a Hot Wheels car or something, but chose to make a figure of him as a character in Masters of The Universe Classics. So it is that we now have Standor.

Standor comes in the standard (no pun intended) MOTUC blister card package fully showcasing the figure inside. The back of the package shows off other figures in the line and presents a bio that fits Standor into the Classics continuity. Yes, unlike Mo-Larr who was given a bio but still regarded as a joke non-canon figure, Standor's bio it seems is actually part of the official storyline now.

That move in and of itself is controversial among fans, but they took it a step further and basically made Standor into God. And I'm not talking "a god" like Moss Man was, I mean they have basically made him Capital G God! Head architect of creating all that was and ever will be. I don't object to making him a god like character, even an actual "god" as in an immortal all powerful being, but THE God (or one of THE Gods...) actual creator of everything? Too far. MOTU gets enough flak from those who are religiously intolerant as is. I could understand making him the creator of the Powers of Grayskull/Eternia, but the WHOLE UNIVERSE? No this was a bad move. I suppose it's meant as a reference to how Stan Lee created the Marvel Comics universe (co-created actually) but MOTU is not part of the Marvel Universe and Stan had nothing to do with it's creation.

So what about the actual figure? Standor uses the standard buck for most of his body with the gloved forearms and hands and the Keldor boots and feet. He features a new belt/loincloth piece that goes with his armor including that helmet we first saw as a teaser way back when. Seeing it in full detail on the figure now gives it a real cosmic being look. It's somewhat reminiscent of Galactus. The paint job is also designed to give him a cosmic being look. He features pale blue skin, much lighter than a Gar, and his armor is done in a glossy black and covered with silver sparkles making it look like star filled outer space. I should also mention that the armor has a glossy smoother texture feel to it than most armors in the line. Nevertheless it is a bit stiffer and does not flex to accommodate the arm movement. To the sides is fine, but raising his arms up too much will push the armor up off his torso.

Standor does not include any accessories aside from his removable helmet and glasses. The glasses feature tiny pegs that fit into small holes in his temples. They are so small and stuck in the middle of his sideburns so they aren't noticeable when he has the glasses off. With or without the glasses the face sculpt does a fantastic job of capturing Stan Lee's likeness. Although his skin is the pale blue color the features are unmistakably his including his signature mustache and greyish hair.

When we first saw the helmet teased many thought it was, or would work as, Netossa's headdress. Well it doesn't fit her, mainly due to the design of the helmet having bands that go around the head. Standor has a very thin hair sculpt so the helmet only works with a couple other heads, mainly bald ones like Faceless One or, seen here, Scare Glow. It almost comes off as a cool Skeletor variant or other skull faced villain. I have to admit I was slightly tempted to get another Standor so I can display the figure like this because that's a cool look.

So that's really all there is to Standor. Like Mo-Larr he's a fun novelty figure, but not for everyone. And even those who like the figure itself probably won't be accepting the character into their personal canon. Much as I like and respect Stan Lee, he has nothing to do with Masters of the Universe. Yes there was a short comic series published by Marvel in the 80's, but Stan himself was not involved with it's creative processes. There have also been MOTU comics published by DC (including the current one that just plain SUCKS and is an insult to true He-Fans everywhere -that's all I'm going to say about that) Stan's actually not really involved with any decisions at Marvel anymore either as evidenced by some of the REALLY STUPID storylines in recent years.

Standor was first offered at Stan Lee's Komicaze convention and is now available on Mattycollector.com. On a side note none of the December items even say "almost gone" yet. Unusual, but I'm going to assume it's a combination of the holiday expenses mixed with the high cost of Castle Grayskull so no one has extra to spend this month. Whatever the case that brings a close to the 2013 MOTUC items, but next month we kick off a great 2014 lineup so until then, Good Journey.

_________________SUPPORT MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE CLASSICS

"I HAVE THE POWER!!.... the power is mine, not yours. Thanks for asking."

Total waste of plastic, time, and resources. Between this and the Mighty Spector, I question why "super collector" or whatever he goes by is in charge of this line. Guys a total idiot sometimes and should not be the decision maker.